Thursday, May 29, 2008

How has everybody been? I miss the class... I'm in Jacksonville, but there isn't much going on over here. Its already been a month since we've been out and I already want to come back, to school, but not to school. I'm just not settled enough here. I'm always in between my girlfriends house and my parents house, so I feel more like I'm living out of a hotel. Well I don't really have anything interesting going on so I'll let you get to it.

Friday, May 23, 2008

As the season finale of Grey's Anatomy was on last night (yes I watched it) I saw the aforementioned advertisement for Starbucks. I said WHAT?! This might have been the second advertisement I have ever seen for Starbucks, and the other one was most likely revolving either around the music side (when they did the big promotion about the music they sell) or possibly about the holidays.

But when you see a company that you are not used to seeing advertise, you have to wonder why they are doing it. Now, I am not sure how old the ad is, but it was added to youtube.com on May 12, with all the agency information on it, so I doubt it is that old.

I wanted to quote an article regarding Starbucks advertising strategy:

Ask any regular Starbucks customer how many Starbucks commercials they have seen in their lifetime and you are almost guaranteed to get a response of ‘one’ or ‘none’. That is not to say that coffee drinkers are now watching less television. Rather, the lack of Starbucks commercials highlights the company’s unique advertising strategy – don’t advertise.

Sure, there are one or two Starbucks commercials, but the company is hesitant to focus on traditional methods of advertising. “It really is about connecting with someone in a more intimate, experiential way that we think will have longer lasting ability to build affinity than a 30-second TV commercial or an ad,” says Senior Vice-President of Marketing at Starbucks Anne Saunders.

Instead of producing Starbucks commercials for the masses, the company chooses instead to focus on the customer’s in-store experience. “You can be extraordinarily successful as a business using what people would call non-traditional means,” says Saunders. “It’s expanded my notion of how important experience versus information or one-way communication can be.”

The average Starbucks customer visits the store six times per month while the heaviest 20% of customers go to Starbucks at least 16 times per month. Thus, company executives feel that improving the in-store customer experience is a much more effective means of advertising than via Starbucks commercials. Starbucks encourages the promotion of their stores as a ‘third home’, providing comfortable chairs for customers to relax and spend time in, playing music and providing outlets for people to plug their laptops into. So far, as Starbucks surpassed the 10,000 mark for number of outlets worldwide, it seems that word of mouth advertising has worked more wonders than Starbucks commercials might.

But back to the blog. What does it mean when the unexpected is happening? Is Starbucks running in to problems? Opening too many shops on every corner and feeling the effects of people saving money and buying cheaper coffee because gas prices are so high? I would guess that a smart company like Starbucks is going to start advertising more when sales drop to promote themselves and try to pump up their sales in this difficult market right now.

In a recent press release from Starbucks (April, 30 2008) the company released second quarter fiscal 2008 results and announced long-term financial targets. The release's first three subheadlines read one after the other:

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Ryan-thanks for continuing to post. I think everyone else is a bunch of creeps for abandoning their creation simply because it's warm outside...WE would like to hear about internships, summer, days at the beach, summer class and everything else. Plus I'm shocked not one person commented on their presentation videos.

Monday, May 19, 2008

Where's everybody at? Is no one having a good time and wanting to write about it this summer? I know there are a bunch of people in internships this summer that could probably share some neat experiences already.

Monday, May 12, 2008

Friday, May 9, 2008

The last thing you made sure to teach us before the semester is over is that advertising isn't businesses dealing with businesses, it's PEOPLE doing business with other people. A lot of people forget that, but Troy Dunn, president-creative director of Dunn & Co. still remembers that. Here is an article he wrote in Ad Age. Miss y'all!

Keep It Casual and See Clients Flock to You

Four Pointers to Keeping Networking Informal -- and Successful

By Troy Dunn

Published: May 05, 2008

Troy Dunn

Traditional networking is a bit out of my comfort zone. As a business owner, I know that networking is critical to business development. I appreciate the value of professional-association meetings, but I don't believe attending such formal settings is the only successful approach to prospecting and obtaining new clients. Personally, I prefer to be less formal. Because I love what I do, this seems to be the purest way of delivering my message, and, as we advise our clients, we have to play to our strengths. So if you're like me, take time to develop your informal networking skills, just as you would to create your 30-second elevator pitch. Learn to treat every occasion -- even a chance encounter -- as an opportunity to meet someone new and to make a lasting impression.

Much of my new business has come from unplanned encounters. During a recent layover from Europe, I recognized a man in the airport whom I'd met five years ago. In ripped jeans and a T-shirt, it's safe to say that I wasn't dressed for success. Still, I took the opportunity to reintroduce myself. He owns a restaurant chain in Florida, and I told him I have a number of clients in that industry, so we got to talking about the state of the restaurant business in Florida. I cited a few examples of how we had addressed promotional challenges -- but I never delivered a formal pitch.

He called me two days later and asked if we could talk about his business challenges. His restaurant chain is now one of our newest clients.

Informal networking works. Here are a few nuggets that may work for you:

CREATE RAPPORT

Informal conversations about topics you're genuinely interested in show a lot more about you and your marketing approach than any canned speech. Potential clients want to understand your unique perspective and how it could benefit their own business challenges. Developing this type of rapport is not unlike the people who first notice a radio, TV or outdoor ad that your agency produced and love the way you've applied your experience and expertise to sell the brand. As a result, they may want you to help sell their brand.

LISTEN

Like most full-service agencies, we have a roster of client case studies I could easily go on and on about. But most people aren't interested in a list of our capabilities -- especially not during a chance meeting. I try to ask questions that make people think, such as, "Why do you think your competitor has higher sales?"

I'm interested in their response, both as a business owner and as a marketer. I'll usually have a relevant story that illustrates how we've addressed a similar situation. By openly sharing my experiences, I build trust, which leads to relationships. People will tell you what you need to know if you engage them and then just listen.

HAVE FUN

High-pressured sales-speak can be spotted a mile away. Fortunately for those of us in advertising, what we do for a living is thought of as glamorous by many, and approachable by almost everyone. We all enjoy creative expression -- why else would so many of us go to Hollywood to become actors and directors? So relax, have fun, and speak to your passions and how they relate to the other person. In my case, how great creative can boost sales is always a hot topic because it leads to a better bottom line.

THERE'S NO SILVER BULLET FOR LANDING NEW BUSINESS

But there's great value in the power of relationships. Strong bonds stem from commonalities discovered in pure conversation. A sales pitch doesn't have to begin with "hello" -- for me, a from-the-heart delivery is always more effective than a PowerPoint presentation of your agency's capabilities. There will be a time and a place for a more formal presentation. When that time comes, you'll have more than 30 seconds to land the business.

Thursday, May 8, 2008

I'm glad Luke Sullivan enjoyed our pig washing. I wish he could have heard the sounds that came from that pig though... Random fact: I was watching Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, which is really weird because I never watch that show. Anyway, one of the questions was something along the lines of, "What does Mr. Whipple tell consumers to do in his advertisements?" Of course, I knew the answer was squeeze it but the girl had to use one of her lifelines. I just thought I'd share that random story with everyone. Hope you all are having a great summer!

By the way, where do we go to see our videos from our presentations? I'm looking forward to it!

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

hey Jeff: These were great. I hope you students had a great time. I was unable to log on to your blog without creating my own, which I wan't in the mood to do. (Too much time on the computer already.) In any case, please pass my regards along to your students. You guys rock!Luke SullivanGSDM828 West 6th St.Austin, TX 78703

Creativity

“It’s like washing a pig. It’s messy, it has no rules, no clear beginning, middle or end: it’s kind of a pain in the ass, and when you’re done, you’re not sure if the pig is clean or even why you were washing a pig.” - Luke Sullivan